The Slatest for Sept. 5: The Chaos That Awaits Kevin McCarthy

Slate Staff
·2 min read
7
Kevin McCarthy pinches the bridge of his nose.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Welcome back from Labor Day weekend! Lawmakers in Washington are also getting back at it—and there’s a whole lot of chaos in store for Kevin McCarthy when Congress returns to work next week. Jim Newell breaks down what lies ahead as the Freedom Caucus comes for its pound of flesh. (Government shutdown, anyone?)

Plus: What would happen if Mitch McConnell were to leave leadership? The “Game of Johns” would begin.

Alabama just learned what happens when you openly defy the Supreme Court: A federal circuit court shot down its new, racist congressional maps on Tuesday. Mark Joseph Stern takes a close look at the court’s 196-page decision, which is “remarkable for its caustic and exasperated criticism of the state’s legislative leaders for their perfidious yet bumbling efforts to evade a court order.”

Plus: Steven Lubet points out that Clarence Thomas’ corrected ethics disclosure form is not actually, er, correct.

A bishop and a nun atop court documents, gray and blue iMessage bubbles, and a black-and-white image of cloisters.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite Nuns and Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images.

Gather ’round and listen to this tale of sex, drugs, and power unfolding at a Carmelite order in Texas, where the nuns are fed up and they’re not going to take it anymore! Molly Olmstead unpacks the whole strange saga—and how it’s gone all the way to the Vatican.

As soon as she heard the news of Jimmy Buffett’s death, Cleo Levin headed for the Times Square Margaritaville. The mood in the room wasn’t quite what she was expecting.

An In-N-Out's iconic palm trees have googly eyes.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images and Getty Images Plus.

It’s Fast-Food Week at Slate! And we’re kicking things off with an article you can enjoy animal-style:

A warming planet is more hospitable to palm trees. One iconic SoCal chain is obsessed with them. Meg Duff explains what In-N-Out’s national expansion says about climate change.

Plus: Dan Kois takes a close look at Cook Out, the glorious and mysterious fast-food chain that could be coming to your town.

Beyonce sits atop a silver horse suspended above the stage.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images

… much like Beyoncé, whose giant flying horse malfunctioned at one point during the “Renaissance” tour.

Flying horse–related mishaps aside, how does her tour compare to Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour? Nadira Goffe and Holly Allen have examined this question from all angles, and they have the CHARTS to show for it. You’re welcome.

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you tomorrow.